Italian Cooking Schools

Would you like to learn more about traditional Italian cooking? Why not schedule your next vacation around a cooking school in Italy? There are many cooking schools available in regions across Italy, and the prices do vary from the very affordable, to the ultra extravagant. Some are hosted by famous Italian cookbook authors and chefs, while others are taught simply by native Italians who want to share their passion for Italian cuisine. Here are just a few presently offered across Italy at this time, sorted by regions, in alphabetical order.

TUSCANY

Chef Paolo Monti’s Italian Cooking Course 
Chef Paolo Monti – Hotelier, Chef, and Self Styled Gourmet, will let you into the secrets of Italian “Mediterranean” cooking; teaching you how to prepare delicious gourmet italian dishes in only a few minutes, to keep your palate titillated and your body healthy!

Coltibuono
For the last two centuries Badia a Coltibuono, originally a medieval Benedictine abbey, has been the gracious villa and prestigious wine estate of the Stucchi-Prinetti family. And, for the last fifteen years it was the setting for Lorenza de Medici’s weeklong Villa Table cooking classes. In 2002 two new programs are being introduced: Tastes of Tuscany: A Gastronomic Sojourn in Chianti and Cooking Classes at Badia a Coltibuono. The principals of the programs are guide John Meis and chef Paolo Pancotti. Meis, a longtime resident of Tuscany, is the author of A Taste of Tuscany and collaborator with Lorenza de Medici in the Villa Table cooking program and numerous cookbooks. An experienced leader of food, wine and art tours, he is a knowledgeable and entertaining guide. Pancotti, chef at the esteemed wine estate, continues the renowned Coltibuono culinary tradition established by Lorenza de Medici, adding his personal approach and professional experience from some of Italy’s best restaurants. During their sojourn guests stay in comfortable rooms located along the characteristic fourteenth century corridor of the ancient abbey. Each room enjoys a delightful view and a private bathroom. There is also time to relax in the magnificent frescoed drawing room, read in the extensive library, stroll in the gardens, enjoy the swimming pool, and walk in the vast woods that surround Coltibuono.

CookinginTuscany.net
Tuscany Cooking Classes at Castello La Torre in Florence, Italy is meant for those who appreciate and love Italian cuisine. CookinginTuscany.net’s cooking classes specialize in Italian & Tuscan cuisine conducted at a magnificent castle La Torre situated near the River Arno in Florence, Italy. The castle has a historical significance; it is believed that the King of France, Charles VIII, stayed in this magnificent castle before entering Florence, Italy. Single as well as multiple day cooking courses are offered, and a variety of wine appreciation courses are also offered.

Cucina con Vista
Cucina con Vista is born from the experiences that Elena Mattei has gained since 1987 from managing her restaurant La Baraonda in Florence. A few years after beginning the business, she found that clients were not only interested in tasting the dishes that were served at her restaurant every evening, but also in experimenting with the art of Tuscan cookery at home. The Cooking classes take place in a traditional farmhouse at the gates of Florence and each participant will be able to taste the dishes prepared during the classes.

Dante Alighieri
A cooking course offered by a language school. These group demonstration sessions can be taken for 3 evenings over 2 weeks or 6 evenings over 4 weeks, from 18.15 until about 22.00. Under the expert guidance of their friendly chef, students learn how to prepare traditional Italian dishes, which vary according to the fresh ingredients available each season. At the end of each session all participants eat what they have prepared together – food and wine are included in the price. This course is designed for people who wish to learn the secrets of Italian gastronomy as a complement to their Italian language studies.

Divina Cucina
Discover the art of eating and cooking with your own custom culinary program in Tuscany. Come and enjoy hands-on cooking lessons in small groups, never more than 6 students. Judy Witts Francini, CCP, who teaches these course, is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, a Certified Culinary Professional, and a student of cooking for over 20 years.

Enoteca – Cooking Lessons
An introduction to preparing, and eating traditional dishes along with appropriate wines. You prepare the dishes and enjoy the products of your work with the appropriate wines. Classes may be scheduled for any dates with two day advance notice, and can be conducted in Italian, English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Japanese. You may take one lesson or combine them to fashion a program to your interests. The lessons begin at 16:00 daily.

Ecco la Cucina
Ecco La Cucina is a hands-on Italian cooking class offering an in-depth learning experience about the foods and wines of Tuscany. The small, intimate classes, limited to six people, are designed to maximize your exposure to Italian foods and cooking techniques, allowing you to brush up on your skills or learn new ways of approaching food. Taught by Italian-American chef, Gina Stipo, this fun and informative week-long immersion into Italian cuisine will highlight regional dishes, locally produced cheeses, olive oils and wines. Class also includes excursions to the surrounding area to enhance your learning experience.

Flavours of Italy
Flavours Italian Cookery Holidays offer a selection of cooking courses in 6 regions of Italy. Choose from Rome, Puglia, Ravenna, Sicily, Tuscany or Bologna. Perfect for people who love food, travel and Italy.

Italian Cookery Course At Casa Umberto
Learn to cook authentic Italian dishes in Tuscany in an informal and friendly environment where you will learn the passion of the Italian kitchen and have fun doing it. A comprehensive hands-on cookery course given by Carla and Michele (for more info click here) who will teach you to make splendid Italian 4 course dinners covering all the basic Italian cooking techniques, from pasta to pastries and everything in between. The cooking lessons are given in the “Cantina” of an old recently restored large Tuscan villa.

Organic Tuscany
Organic Tuscany offers week-long “farm to table” organic cooking courses. The program Includes visits to local organic farms, hands-on cooking classes using organic ingredients, olive oil and wine tastings and tours of Siena, Florence and San Gimignano.

Taste Tuscany
Hands-on cooking classes held in English, teaching traditional recipes from the north, center and south of Italy. From picking herbs and vegetables in the garden to talking with the local farmers at the open market, cooking will be fun and delicious. You will be guided to discover the art treasures of Tuscany, visit traditional craft workshops and enjoy local events. In wine classes you’ll learn all the secrets of wine appreciation and visit Chianti producers and their cellars. The art and archaeological guides, will tell you ancient stories of the the past, stories of kings and bishops, of pilgrims and knights. In the delicate rolling hills you’ll find the right atmosphere to share the food you prepared with your new friends, sitting in the magic circle of cypresses, whose dark leaves melt into the starry night.

Toscana Saporita
Toscana Saporita is an Italian cooking school located in Tuscany offering small classes and hands-on instruction in English, as well as daily tours with professional English speaking guides. They have attracted accomplished chefs who come to study the unique nature of Tuscan cuisine, and compliments from The International Herald Tribune as well as from Italian Food, Wine, and Travel and other publications. Anne Bianchi and Sandra Lotti are the founders of Toscana Saporita. Bianchi, an Italian American, and Lotti, a native Tuscan, are cousins, and authors of many internationally acclaimed cookbooks.

Tuscan Way
You are personally invited to spend a few days or a week in an enchanting old medieval homes in the village of Arcidosso, near Siena in the South of Tuscany. Carlo Innocenti will teach you how to prepare dishes typical of this region and enjoy, recognize and appreciate its famous wines. Daily-guided field trips to the picturesque little towns of the area are provided as well as airport and station transfers.

Tuscan Women Cook
Indulge yourself in the Tuscan lifestyle and discover the region’s passion for food and wine. The best cooks in all of Tuscany, the local women, teach these classes. They’ll share regional techniques, ingredients, and family recipes that have been passed down over the centuries. The program includes 7 night’s accommodation at Agriturismo Belagaggio in Montefollonico, all meals for 5 days, including wine, olive oil and cheese tasting, and visits to local markets and historical towns. Airfare and local transportation are not included.

Tuscany Cooking Class
Tuscany Cooking Class offers beginning and advanced cooking classes in Tuscany and wine tours in Chianti, Tuscany. Cooking Tuscan recipes in a Tuscan villa is the perfect way to experience Tuscany at its most.

 

LAZIO

Diane Seed’s Culinary Adventures
Diane Seed, author of the best-selling “The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces” and many other books on Italian cooking, has lived in Rome for over 30 years. She has a cooking school in her own home in the beautiful Doria Pamphili palace in the centre of Rome at Piazza Venezia. Her apartment is in the part of the palace used to house guests on the Grand Tour in the early part of the last century, and the cooking school has a round window that looks over Piazza Venezia, down to the Forum and the Colosseum. The back terrace looks over the tiled roof to see the dome of St.Peter’s.

Fontana del Papa ~ Let’s Cook In Italy
Assuntina Antonacci, and her husband Claudio host cooking courses that offer a unique opportunity to experience first hand authentic top quality regional cooking techniques and recipes that have been developed and handed down over generations. All of their courses include excursions, such as tutored wine & olive oil tasting. They will also take you walking in the surrounding countryside to pick and learn about wild mushrooms, wild salads herbs, according to the season.

 

PUGLIA

The Awaiting Table
Recently profiled in Bon Appetit magazine, and named as one of the top cooking schools in Italy by Food and Wine Magazine, The Awaiting Table Cookery School in Lecce, Italy, is a small, intimate Italian cooking school in the most beautiful town in the entire sunny south of Italy.

 

LE MARCHE

La Tavola Marche
La Tavola Marche is a unique culinary experience where you actively participate in Italian culture through seasonal activities paired with local artisan bakers, farmers, and wine makers while staying in a relaxed bed-and-breakfast country house.

 

LOMBARDIA

Italian Institute For Advanced Culinary Pastry Arts
Are you a professional chef looking to improve your skills? Full Immersion Culinary and Pastry programs for professional Chefs, Patissier, Culinary Instructors and advanced students presented by Europe’s most renown Master Chefs in the beautiful Lake Garda Region just outside of Milan. Courses include; The Evolution of Italian Cuisine, Italian Culinary Exploration, and Pastry, Cakes & Desserts, which are full one and two week immersion courses.

 

EMILIA ROMAGNA

International Cooking School of Italian Food And Wine Hands on cooking classes offered by Mary Beth Clark in the heart of Bologna in a 16th century palazzo.

 

UMBRIA

One Day Classes

Cook In Umbria
Let’s cook in Umbria offers cooking classes, winery tours, gourmet tours, excursions to artisan chocolate and olive oil producers, truffle hunting and very popular cooking vacation programs that include accommodations and excursions to remote villages throughout Umbria and Tuscany. Let’s cook in Umbria offers a great opportunity to live for a short break in Umbria, learning about authentic Italian food, touring beautiful art sites, relaxing in the luxuriant garden or at the pool. Raffaella’s approach to cooking is simple, seasonal, and local. Many options available from one day to 7 day classes, and can include gourmet tours as well. Reservations are on request for any day, year round, based upon availability, for a minimum of three people. Classes begin at approximately 10AM and are about 3 to 4 hours long and include the preparation of a multi-course meal, which you enjoy with wine at the end of the lesson. The one full cooking day can be reserved any day of the year for a minimum 2 people.

Umbria Cooks 4 U
In Tita’s state-of-the art kitchen, she shares her family secrets for traditional Umbrian dishes. Under her guidance, students of her cooking school can prepare local specialties using the best ingredients the region has to offer, including olive oil, prized lentils, cured meats, mountain cheeses, and a variety of wines. Tita will cater the menu for your visit to your own personal tastes and preferences, accommodating both meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Upon request Tita can also come to you, providing cooking lessons at your villa rental. And in the dining room of Tita’s hillside home, they also serve full-course Umbrian meals to groups as small as four and as large as ten.

Madonna Del Piatto
The atmosphere of Letizia’s classes is friendly and informal, providing a blend of traditional and modern Italian cooking techniques. You will first learn how to select the best Umbrian ingredients during a shopping excursion in the nearby village. You will then use these delicacies – and other ingredients picked up locally and in our own herb garden – to prepare an authentic Italian meal. With a view of the garden, our spacious and professionally equipped kitchen is a perfect setting for a gourmet experience for you and your cooking companions. Cooking classes are available twice a week on weekdays. Programs are offered year round for a minimum of two people.

Aroma Cucina – Private, Hands-on Cooking Classes in Your Holiday Villa
Aroma Cucina offers customized private cooking classes and market visits designed specifically for you. Classes start at 50 euro/per person, group prices available. Not interested in learning to cook but would love a personal chef to come to your holiday rental and cook for you? Relax and enjoy the view while Aroma Cucina prepares an unforgeteable experience in your Italian villa. Great if you are traveling with children or would like some wine with dinner and don’t want to worry about driving. It is just like having a full service restaurant come to your door!

Love Umbria
Take a cooking class with a professional chef and then enjoy the results of your efforts over lunch or dinner in the unique surroundings of a restaurant housed in part of a Roman theatre dating back to the 1st Century. Why not combine your cooking lesson with a Sagrantino wine tour in nearby Montefalco? The exact menu will depend on what is in season and available at the time of the lesson but is likely to consist of one primo (entrée) (such as a pasta dish or gnocchi) and one main course (such as braised veal in Rosso di Montefalco wine sauce). Following an aperitivo, lunch or dinner will consist mainly of the food you have prepared at the cooking lesson. Love Umbria also offers 5 day small group culinary/cooking tours as well as truffle hunting and wine tasting tours.

Sono Marcella
Small classes of no more than 6 persons with personalized menus. Focus is on the freshest seasonal ingredients and typical Umbrian specialties such as truffles, Pecorino cheeses, and Torta al Testo. Traditional pasta dishes, specialty desserts, and distinctive local wines and olive oils are also featured. Technique classes on specific subjects (hand-made pastas, gnocchi, desserts, sauces, porcini, and truffles for example), as well as 2 to 5 day sessions are also available by special arrangement. Classes typically begin at 10AM and last approximately 6 hours, and after the students get to enjoy the meal they helped to prepare. Classes are available mid-May through mid-October, Monday through Saturday. Market visits beginning at 9AM may also be pre-arranged any class day.

Annes Italy
Join Anne for a cooking class of Umbrian rural cuisine in her Assisi farmhouse. Start with market shopping and a visit to the local caseificio to taste and select freshly-made cheeses, a stop to buy vegetables from farmer Novella and then on to the butcher. A stop for a taste of Giovannino’s wine and prosciutto is also a must, followed by a visit to a farm neighbor to buy fresh eggs. Classes at Anne’s Assisi area farmhouse are fully “hands-on”. Depending on the season, such ingredients as wild asparagus or wild field greens might be foraged to add to the meal. Cooking classes take a couple of hours and the meal will be enjoyed by all afterwards. During the class, Anne will share Umbrian gastronomical lore and rural life stories, as well as insights into the rural restoration norms. Cooking classes in our home are generally limited to 8 persons.

Active Gourmet Umbrian-Tuscan Cooking Classes
Enjoy hands-on cooking classes at a breathtaking villa set in the rolling hills of Umbria. This holiday is dedicated to offering you the chance to learn traditional Italian recipes. Your instructors will provide you with an explanation on exquisite recipes using traditional cooking methods. Following the class you will enjoy the prepared food accompanied by a selected wine. Over the years the villa has been home to nobles and has been lovingly taken care of as it still retains its large fireplaces, frescoes, ancient cotto floors and period furnishings. Your instructor along with a translator will teach you the secrets of Umbrian and Tuscan cuisine, using the freshest ingredients of the season. Learn to cook traditional dishes that you will easily be able to re-create at home for your friends and family.
Cooking classes are held on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays only.

Italy Loves To Cook
Classes are held at “Villa Vincara,” an elegant, antique villa of the early 1800s located in Deruta, a medieval town known world-wide for its finest ceramics, just a few km from Perugia, Assisi, Todi. If you are renting a property in Umbria, they also offer classes on location, and will come to your rental villa. Italy Loves To Cook offers hands-on cooking classes in a fun and friendly atmosphere. The classes will be offered in English. Non-participant friends & family are welcome to join the group for lunch for a small fee. Owners Zoila and Tiziana both come from a long tradition of hospitality in the travel industry as well as in the restaurant field. Classes begin at 10:00AM and end at 2:00PM, and include lunch.

Cooking With Maria
Maria Maurillo, owner of the Malvarina Country Inn, located on the slopes of Mount Subasio 4 miles outside the Medieval walls of Assisi teaches Umbrian home cooking to small groups of food lovers in her own kitchen. From simple sauces to exquisite truffles, Maria delights in showing participants how to use the traditional Umbrian ingredients to prepare regional dishes with remarkable flavors. The class includes one cooking lesson, a recipe book and apron, and dinner with wine after class. Classes are available Monday through Friday and generally last 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Multiple Day Cooking Classes

Cucina Della Terra
Take a unique cooking vacation in Italy and acquaint yourself with all that the Umbrian and Tuscan regions have to offer. Cucina della Terra, a cooking school in Italy located in the heart of Umbria, offers all of the above. Satisfy your inner-foodie with daily cooking classes in our their private kitchen. Capture the heart, soul and stomach of Italy’s Umbrian countryside. The cooking school is located in Umbria, Italy near Lago Trasimeno, close to the regional capital of Perugia. The school is approximately 5 minutes up the road from the town of Castiglione del Lago. Week long, all inclusive programs are offered.

Villa La Rogaia
Maestra Ornella teaches the classes, initiating Villa La Rogaia guests for many years into the secrets of Umbrian cuisine. Participants will cook five complete dinners from Antipasto to Dolce, under the guidance of Ornellai, a maestra of Umbrian home cooking. For her simple but delicious meals, she prefers fresh products directly farms, markets, meadows and woods around La Rogaia. The group will also accompany a truffle hunter with his dog to witness how these precious delicacies are found. The classes take place at Villa La Rogaia, an outstanding old Umbrian countryhouse with many gardens. It is situated near Lake Trasimeno between Rome and Florence. Participants stay in individually crafted double or single rooms (shared bathroom for two bedrooms) or in holiday apartments (for two persons), partly at the village of Castel Rigone 4 km from La Rogaia. The number of participants of the cooking class is limited to 14 persons. Language of instruction is in Italian with English translation. Week long all inclusive courses only.

The Institute di Arte Culinaria
Learn to cook at the Institute di Arte Culinaria with Executive Chef Lorenzo Polegri Chef Lorenzo, who will teach the adventurous participants to the real deal of cooking, directly involved in the guided search for the basic products at the various local markets, wineries, oil mills, pasta factories and vegetable gardens located in the Orvieto’s area and its countryside. This course is a full hands-on great experience! 9 Days, 7 nights

Cooking With Maria – 3 Day Classes
Maria Maurillo, owner of the Malvarina Country Inn, located on the slopes of Mount Subasio 4 miles outside the Medieval walls of Assisi teaches Umbrian home cooking to small groups of food lovers in her own kitchen. From simple sauces to exquisite truffles, Maria delights in showing participants how to use the traditional Umbrian ingredients to prepare regional dishes with remarkable flavors. The class includes three cooking lessons, three nights accommodation, a recipe book and apron, and dinner with wine every night after class. Classes are available Monday through Friday and generally last 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

La Chiusa
Cooking classes are designed for two to eight people and last four days. Classes are held Monday through Wednesday in the afternoon and on Thursday morning 15 km from Città di Castello. You will learn traditional Italian cooking including how to make pasta, gnocchi, bread, and many other dishes. In every class we will create a full meal-from the first course through dessert. This structure helps the students to learn the details of cooking preparation and timing. The lessons, coupled with individual recipes, teach techniques and secrets that will permit you to transform any ingredient into an exquisite dish. The reservation comes complete with an abundant breakfast of our own bread and jam, eggs, sliced meats, yogurt, and lots more.

Italian Delights
Cooking courses at la Corte del Poggio, in the countryside near Lake Trasimeno. You can choose among different courses over one, two or three days: a complete Italian menu; pizza, vegetarian menu, rustic menu, etc..

Umbria Cucina
Learn to cook traditional Italian cuisine with a master chef, and enjoy a holiday in a beautiful medieval village in Umbria. The cooking classes will take place in the newly renovated facilities of Il Grottino di Zio Toto restaurant in Monte Castello di Vibio with professional chef Massimo Costanzi. The restaurant is located beside the medieval walls of Monte Castello di Vibio. The menu for the course will include antipasti (starter), primi (pasta and sauces), secondi with contorno (main course meat and side dishes), and dolci (dessert), with each of these 4 courses held on successive days. The first lesson will be “introductory theory of ingredients and wine choices”, with a sommelier present. 7 days in an Italian restaurant and cooking school in Umbria, Italy. You will explore Umbria, its flavors and heritage while learning to cook classic Italian and traditional Umbrian dishes in the surroundings of a medieval borgo.
This cooking holiday consists of:
5 half day cooking classes in Monte Castello di Vibio.
Enjoy tasting wonderful local wines, olive oil, and food.
4 ‘gastronomic’ excursions to the beautiful towns of Todi, Orvieto, and Montefalco, for sightseeing, combined with visits to tastings of local food and wine produce.

MULTIPLE REGIONS/CULINARY TOUR GROUPS

Ciao Laura
Ciao Laura offers one-day cooking lessons, guided walking tours, winery tours, market tours, excursions to artisan cheese and olive oil producers, limoncello tastings and of course, our very popular weekly cooking vacations including accommodations and daily excursions throughout Italy. Customized programs available on request.

Cook Italy
Cook Italy is about having fun learning to cook authentic Italian food, proper traditional food with roots and soul. Italian food varies from region to region because it relies on locally grown seasonal ingredients, usually just a few at a time. The techniques are not complicated. They aim to bring the flavors out, not to overwhelm with mixtures, sauces and spices. These courses have been planned to appeal to all food lovers: experienced cooks, novices, non-cooks. You will prepare quick, simple three course meals that are delicious and look good. Classes are held in Tuscany, Umbria, emilia Romagna and Sicily.

Tasteof.it
Tasteof.it is offering holidaymakers the opportunity to explore Italy in a unique way, through a newly launched programme of Cultural and Culinary Courses. Their diverse seven-day courses, based in Rome, Sicily and Alto Adige, offer visitors a fresh insight into the Italian way of life. In-between lessons on both traditional and more innovative Italian cooking methods, participants can sample local specialities during our guided visits to markets, vineyards, olive oil mills and even buffalo farms.

 

Deborah Mele 2011